RM2bil Madani submarine cable project strengthens nation’s digital network

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission announced the Madani Submarine Cable, or Salam project, which will significantly enhance the nation's digital network. This RM2 billion strategic project, set to commence in Q1 2027 and conclude by Q4 2029, aims to boost capacity and resilience while ensuring stable, secure, and reliable digital services.

The project will span 5,582km with 10 cable landing stations connected by four submarine cable segments, with three stations in Sarawak, five in Sabah, and two on the peninsula. Current digital demands, driven by AI, cloud computing, and e-commerce, have rendered existing capacity insufficient. The project's designer, Amir Akramin Shafie, a smart systems technology expert at UniSZA, emphasized that Malaysia's existing 1Malaysia People's Cable (SKR1M) has a capacity of 4Tbps, while Salam's potential reaches up to 12.8Tbps.

Amir highlighted that SKR1M requires regular maintenance and that Salam will provide alternative routes to reduce dependency on a single system for uninterrupted network services. Submarine cables, using fibre optics, transmit data through light signals and are capable of carrying vast amounts of data at high speeds and reliability. However, these cables do not directly provide internet access to homes; they must travel through terrestrial infrastructure like telecommunications networks before reaching users.

Firdausi Suffian, a UiTM Sabah lecturer, emphasized that digital connectivity is as crucial as traditional infrastructure like roads and electricity. Inadequate digital infrastructure can hinder productivity, industrial competitiveness, and investment opportunities in Sabah and Sarawak. The digital divide could perpetuate development disparities in these regions.

Firdausi believes that a more stable, high-capacity network could support the growth of digital businesses, improve access to education, healthcare, and government services online, and help Malaysia capture a larger share of regional digital trade and investment under the Digital Economy Framework Agreement.